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　　The volcano(火山)is one of the most surprising frightening forces of nature．Maybe you have seen pictures of these “fireworks” of nature．Sometimes when a volcano erupts, a very large wall of melted rock moves down the side of a mountain．It looks like a “river of fire．”Sometimes volcanoes explode, throwing the melted rock and ashes high into the air．But where does this melted rock come from?

　　The earth is made up of many layers．The top layer that we see is called the crust．Under the crust are many layers of hard rock．But far, far beneath the crust whose rock is so hot, that it is soft．In some places it even melts．The melted rock is called magma．Sometimes the magma breaks out to the surface through cracks in the crust．These cracks are volcanoes．

　　Most people think of mountains when they think of volcanoes．But not every mountain is a volcano．A volcano is simply the opening in the earth from which the magma escapes．The hot magma, or lava as it is called, builds up on the surface of the earth．Over thousands of years, this pile of cooled lava can grow to be very, very big．For example, the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro, is a volcano．It towers more than 16,000 feet above the ground around it．

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　　Learning online should make use of a number of Internet tools：e-mail lets you exchange letters between continents very cheaply and almost immediately．Large groups of people can share their discussions by using electronic lists to send every letter to everyone on the list．Electronic magazines bring you up-to-date topics, such as news, arts, and sports．Search engines allow you to look for anything you want on the Internet, including the holdings of major libraries．In a chat room you can have a real-time written talk．Audio and video bring the world to your computer－you can listen to the world's radio stations, watch the evening news from another continent．And in an online conference you can even talk to your teacher and fellow students abroad．

　　Do you have e-mail?How much do you communicate with your friends over the Internet?Internet, the newest child in technology, is like a modern communication highway．It's also a kind of super-shop, almost anything you can buy in a store－you can get it through Internet, without leaving home at all．

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　　Are you worried by the rising crime rate?If you are, then you probably know that your house, possessions and person are increasingly in danger of suffering from the great rise in the cases of burglary(入室行窃) and attack．

　　Figures indicate an ever-increasing crime rate but it is only too easy to imagine “it will never happen to me”．Unfortunately, numbers show that it really can happen to you and, if you live in a large city, you run twice the risk of being a victim(受害者)．

　　Fortunately, there is something which you can do．Protect Alarms can help to protect your house with a burglar alarm system which is effective, simple to operate and easy to buy．

　　You must remember that possessing a burglar alarm is no indication that your house is filled with valuable possessions．It quite simply indicates to unwelcome visitors that yours is one house they will not break into easily so they carry on to an unprotected house where their job is made a lot easier．

　　Send now for our free leaflet(小册) telling you how we can Protect Alarm your house quickly, easily and cheaply．Complete and tear off the slip below and post it to us．Postage is free．Or telephone us on 327 6721 where we have a round-the-clock answering service, through which you can get the information any time you want．It costs nothing to find out about Protect Alarms．

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　　Everyone knows you must exercise regularly to keep good health．Indeed, staying physically fit is a big part of our culture．we consider(or rightly so)that healthy people are attractive people．Since most of us want to be attractive, there is no shortage of exercise clubs, training videos, magazines and books offering to help us stay physically fit．

　　Unfortunately, however, our culture doesn’t place the same emphasis on mental fitness．Although we tend to like men and women with strong, healthy-looking bodies, we don’t have the same degree of respect or attraction for smart, educated, mentally healthy people．This is a pity, because there are great rewards for people who have developed the ability to think well．

　　If your mind is well trained and flexible, you will be able to understand a great deal of what happens around you．And if you are also well educated－that is, if you understand basic science, mathematics, music, art, literature, history and so on－you will find it much easier to make good decisions throughout your life．Over the long run, this leads to a sense of control over your destiny and a much better life than otherwise．

　　People who are poorly educated or who don’t think well－that is, people who are not mentally fit－see things differently．Their world is controlled by mysterious, often malevolent(恶意的)forces．Such people live within a system they will never master, forced to follow rules they will never understand．Although it may not be obvious, most spend their lives being manipulated(控制)by others．They are told what to do, what to think, how to spend their money, and what they should and should not aspire(渴望)to in life．

　　In my opinion, if you want to live well, you must be able to use your mind well．For this reason, I want you to be able to concentrate, to solve problems, to understand complex ideas, and to think clearly and quickly．Such skills will make it easier for you to make informed decisions, understand current events, choose good friends, manage your money well, make wise lone-term decisions and appreciate music, art and literature．

　　The key to developing such skills is to enjoy learning, and to have the ability and motivation to teach yourself．

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　　In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown．Some sociologists suggest that one little-noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner．

　　Before the appearance of television sets, the American dinner was a big event for the family．In many homes, dinner time may be the only time when everyone got together．A typical dinner was usually in three stages．In the preparation stage, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put the last touches on the roast．In the eating stage, family members shared the day's experiences and more than food was eaten．In this stage families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family unit was strengthened．In the cleaning-up stage, children or Father again gave their hands, so that their importance to the home community was clear．Unfortunately, all of these have been removed by a product－the television set．

　　By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty minutes long．The speed-up of the once-leisurely experiences is clearly connected to the pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners－meals designed to be eaten from the beginning to the end of a half-hour program．The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife．

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　　It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp(军营)．It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around．Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers．But it was difficult for the young men to go outside．Mr White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp．

　　Once Mr White was ill in bed．He couldn’t work and a young officer, Mr Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him．He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday．But night fell and none came back to the camp．He was worried about it and stood at the gate．It was five to twelve when Mr Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening to the young men．He started the car quickly and set off．At that moment the nine soldiers came back．It seemed they drank wine．Of course they found the officer was angry．

　　“I’m sorry, sir,” said the first soldier．“I left the town on time．But something was wrong with my bus on my way here．I had to buy a horse and made it run fast．Bad luck!It died and I had to run back．”

　　And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons．It was the last soldier’s turn．He said, “I’m sorry, sir．I got on a bus on time, but……”

　　Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once．He called out, “If you say something was wrong with your bus, I’ll punish you at once!”

　　“No, no, sir,” said the young man．“My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!”

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　　The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit－card(信用卡)fraud．Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site(非法网站)．

　　Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care．

　　On－line shoppers who enter their credit－card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought．The thieves then go shopping with your card number－or sell the information over the Internet．Computers hackers(黑客)have broken down security(安全)systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information．Several months ago, 25,000 customers of CD Universe, an on－line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky．Their names, addresses and credit－card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US ＄157,828 to get back the information．

　　Credit－card firms are now fighting against on－line fraud．Mastercard is working on plans for Web－only credit card, with a lower credit limit．The card could be used only for shopping on－line．However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated．

　　Ask about your credit－card firm's on－line rules：Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US ＄78 of any fraudulent(欺骗性的)spending．

　　And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit－card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system．

　　If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right－hand corner of your screen．The Web site address may also start https：//－the extra “s” stands for secure．If in doubt, give your credit－card information over the telephone．

　　Keep your password(密码)safe：Most on－line sites require a user name and password before placing an order．Treat your passwords with care．

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　　The United States government wants to know what the public thinks about its findings on the safety of cloned animals．

　　The Food and Drug Administration says meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats are safe to eat．An F．D．A．official called them "as safe to eat as the food we eat every day．" And when those clones reproduce sexually(有性繁殖), the agency says, their offspring(后代)are safe to eat as well．But research on cloned sheep is limited．So the F．D．A．proposes that sheep clones not be used for human food．

　　The United States this year could become the first country to approve the sale of foods from cloned animals．First, however, the public will have ninety days to comment on three proposed documents．On December 28th the F．D．A．released a long report, called a draft risk assessment, along with two policy documents．

　　The agency says it must receive comments by April second．The F．D．A．seemed ready to act several years ago, but an advisory committee called for more research．

　　For now, the government will continue to ask producers to honor a request that they not sell foods from cloned animals．

　　Clones are still rare．They cost a lot and are difficult to produce．

　　The F．D．A．says most food from cloning is expected to come not from clones themselves, but from their sexually reproduced offspring．It says clones are expected to be used mostly as breeding(繁殖)animals to spread good qualities．

　　Public opinion studies show most Americans do not like the idea of food from cloned animals．But this research also shows the public knows little about cloning．

　　Cloning differs from genetic engineering．A cell taken from a so-called donor(捐赠者)animals is grown into an embryo(胚胎)in the laboratory．Next, the embryo is placed into the uterus(子宫)of a female animal．If the process is successful, the pregnancy reaches full term and a genetic copy of the donor animal is born．